Monday, 16 January 2017

UTOPIA RESORT AND SPA | A Sweet Low-down Weekend at this Quaint Hideaway in Puerto Galera

Puerto Galera used to be a
familiar place I associate with sublime white beaches almost devoid of
structures – where me and my buddies from UST Mountaineering Club would pitch
our tents over a stretch of fine sands with only a lone house standing in the
middle. “A German owns that house” I
remember a friend telling us. Our campsite then, situates
on a beachhead that leads to the foot of Mount Malasimbo – where we would day
trek before we retire back to our tents. For three to four days, our group and
nobody else would exist in sheer delight on a place everyone calls as Talipanan beach – which those days back
in the late 1990’s, was a picture of isolation. I would come back many years
later only to see numerous new resorts erected all over rendering the place almost unrecognizable. Since then, I see Puerto Galera as that distant friend, who
once possessed a benevolent silence meant for listening to one’s thoughts,
while offering a haven for nature lovers – but has now grown into a wild child
catering to a more party atmosphere.

The well landscaped grounds of Utopia Resort and Spa

Enter
Utopia Resort and Spa | A throwback
to the good ole’ Puerto Galera Vibe

After docking at a small
port at Muelle bay, we rode a van that snaked through a number of turns until
it took us to an elevated part of Puerto Galera. Resting on top of Palangan
Hill, Utopia Resort & Spa
immediately captured my attention at the way it is surrounded by a set of
spectacular scenery; the gleaming blue waters of Varadero Bay in the south and
Muelle Bay on the west, plus the rolling greens of distant hills in the east.

View from the Veranda of Sampaguita Suites

Wasting no time, we were
quickly ushered to our assigned rooms. Although every suite are spacious and
offer a distinct set of amazing scenery, the keys were dangled in front of us to randomly
select one. Lo and behold, Karla
and I ended up getting the Sampaguita Suite – the biggest of all six
villas at the resort. (2 more are
currently under construction).

Sampaguita
aka The Honeymoon Suite

Known as the honeymoon
suite because it screams of a romantic setting, being perched on the edge of the property that overlooks the tranquil
waters of Varadero Bay and the mountain slopes of Baclayan – the lush forest
that expands into the heart of the land of the indigenous Iraya Mangyans.

A roomy living room with
glass windows leads to an upper bedroom and at the middle of the stairs, a door
takes you out to a spacious veranda that showcases the beautiful scenery of the bay
and the distant mountains. “I could sit
here for hours with a cold beer on hand and I’m solve” I said to Karla.

Sampaguita Suite

“Same
here but with a cup of coffee” said a smiling Karla.
Waking up for two mornings at this suite was one for the books. Imagine
stretching out your hands and feet over such magnificent set of nature backdrop
consisting; of the sea, the mountains and the clear blue skies, while breathing the morning wind.

The
Food, the Hospitality and Owner Mr. Bruce’s Stories

What made our stay more
special was the genuine hospitality displayed by the staff and even by Kevin
Bruce himself – the Englishman who is behind Utopia Spa & Resort. Our first
meal was set up in the vast outdoor garden of the resort. Walking barefoot over
the well maintained lawn, I joined the others as we huddled together around a table, while the comely
views of Varadero Bay once again engages us with a visual feast.

Lunch with a view

Laid out on the table are
another kind of feast waiting. Utopia Spa & Resorts serves a variety of
world cuisines from local favorites, to American to European and even
to other Asian dishes such as Indian and Chinese as well.

On our first night after
chilling by Encenada Beach(where Josh
Stone famously played a few songs to a number of lucky beach goers after
the Malasimbo Music Festival a few years ago) which is located a 10 minute
downhill hike from the resort (and around
15-20 minutes hike back up), we lounged around the swimming pool while
Kevin Bruce umped up the karaoke.

Encenada Beach

Over bottle of San Miguel
Beers and a sumptuous dinner of chicken, fries, fish fillet and pizza, we’ve
gotten to learn the colorful life story of Mr. Bruce as he engaged us with his
animated way of conversing.

Karlaroundtheworld enjoying a Spa-time. Photo Credit: Pancake

This is the Puerto Galera
I’ve come to know in my younger day; chill-down in a nature-heavy location that
is perfect for having an intimate talk with your friends. Finding a place like Utopia Spa
& Resort that situates in the quiet part of Puerto Galera, allows you the
best of both worlds – as the lively and revelry-filled part of Galera is always
a short tricycle ride away.

Even the pool is surrounded by lush greens. Photo credit: Karla Ramos

In here though, I savored
every hour of our sweet low-down weekend.

Bonding
with new-Friends

Thanks to the wide open
space of Utopia, the many walking paths that leads to the pool, the garden and
to the beach – everything conspired to present us with heaps of things to do and and an opportunity to
get to know better our new friends who went with us.

The Utopian gang

Brigitte Neilsen and her
husband Jovin forms the travel website Wandering Waffleheads – where they
document their year-long honeymoon through impressive photographs and kick-ass
drone video footage of their travels. There is also Mary Jane who prefer to be
called as Pancake and
of course the person who invited us; Rizal
Underground frontman; Stephen Lu.

Utopia retains the Puerto Galera I know

Utopia Spa & Resort
reminded me that the Puerto Galera I know still remains despite of the
continued tourism boom in the island. Adjacent to the hill where Utopia is
located, another property called Kalaw also provides the same charming
vibe perfect for those who prefer to relax in the silent part of the island.

The Restaurant of Utopia Resort

I asked Karla, Brigitte,
Jovin and Pancake if they all want to return to Utopia and their answers are in
unison; a big YES. I guess, we will
be having a reunion trip back to Utopia in the near future.

About Marky Ramone Go
I started travel blogging in 2007 and has since became a full-time travel writer contributing for various travel magazines and newspapers such as the Manila Bulletin, BusinessMirror, The Daily Tribune, Travel Now, Gala Magazine and more.

About the Blogger

Marky Ramone Go is a travel-junkie, writer and photographer based in the Philippines. Aside from contributing articles to various publications and websites, he narrates his experiences wandering the tropical paradise of the Philippines, the culturally rich regions of South East Asia, Sri Lanka and India on this travel blog. After Asia, he is keen on exploring South America and eventually tracing Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" trail in the United States to Mexico.: